Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) led Nevada’s Democratic Congressional delegation, including Senator Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-Nev.-01), Congressman Steven Horsford (D-Nev.-04), and Congresswoman Susie Lee (D-Nev.-03), in a bicameral letter to President Donald Trump, urging him to reconsider his decision to deny Governor Sisolak’s request for a full federal cost share for the use of the Nevada National Guard to combat COVID-19. In August, the Administration inexplicably cut Nevada’s federal cost share for the use of the National Guard under Title 32 of the U.S. Code, despite the fact that the Nevada National Guard’s coronavirus mitigation efforts remain critical to ensuring the safety and health of all Nevadans during this pandemic.
“The August 3 memorandum, which outlined new federal cost share policies for state National Guards, is irresponsible in the face of the health crisis we continue to face and will have adverse effects on Nevada and other states’ ability to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the lawmakers wrote. “Reducing federal cost share from 100 percent to 75 percent places a large burden on Nevada whose National Guard members are working hard to address the impact of COVID-19 on their fellow citizens.”
The lawmakers continued, “the Nevada National Guard has been critical to our state with their direct support of Nevada’s state and local response efforts…The Nevada National Guard’s work will continue to be central to keeping Nevadans healthy, and getting Nevada’s economy back on track. Therefore, we once again request that you extend the full federal cost share through December 31, 2020, with required monthly assessments, in order to allow the Nevada National Guard to continue supporting these mission critical tasks.”
The full text of the letter can be found here.
BACKGROUND:
In July, the Nevada Congressional delegation sent a bipartisan letter to President Trump asking him to extend the 502(f)(2)(A) of Title 32 funding authorization for the Nevada National Guard through December 31, 2020.
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